Max Verstappen has had a productive test week in Barcelona. The Dutchman was in action all day today and was very satisfied with his test. He was a bit sick.
The first test of the season was completed behind closed doors this week at the Barcelona circuit in Spain. It was an important week for Red Bull, as they got the chance to drive the new RB22 for the first time. It was also the first time that they could drive with their own power source, which they produced together with Ford.
On Monday, Isack Hadjar made the first meters with the new car. He managed to complete a large number of laps, and was even the fastest man on the track. Verstappen came into action on Tuesday morning, where he was unable to drive as much as hoped due to the rain. Verstappen handed over the wheel to Hadjar in the afternoon, but he parked the RB22 in the wall.
Red Bull then did not compete on Wednesday and Thursday, as they waited for new parts to repair the car. In the meantime, Verstappen flew back to his hometown of Monaco, where he appeared in a Team Redline livestream.
Proud of the team
Today he got behind the wheel again, but he felt sick. He sounded sick when he spoke to F1 TV: “A lot of work has gone into this car in recent years and it was great that we were able to complete so many laps with our engine on the first day. That created emotional faces in the pit box, which was nice to see.”
How is the feeling?
Verstappen drove 118 laps today and showed that the RB22 is reliable. He enjoyed it: “Today it went well. I drove a lot of laps on a dry track. Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done.”
“We are learning a lot about the car and Power Unit, and we understand them better and better. We drive with different set-ups and try to do as many laps as possible to try out as much as possible during a day. We succeeded in that. That is what these test days were all about and we will continue that in Bahrain.”
Photo’s F1 Test Barcelona 2026
